SINGAPORE 60's: ANDY'S POP MUSIC INFLUENCE: ON THE MUSIC N MEMORY TRAIL IS MY OWN BLOG N ROLL PROJECT. NOSTALGIA IS PERSONAL HISTORY N PICTURES TELL STORIES. POP MUSIC NOT PILLS. ANDY YOUNG. (November, 2008). IT'S DONE WITH MUCH TIME AND LOVE.

"TO BE A ROCK BUT NOT TO ROLL"

Sunday, September 23, 2012

When Grease Was King: A Photo Shoot With Kheng

Produced by The Moving Visuals Co. for Mediacorp Okto

Our Past Is Our Present:
*Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? could we ...?A Documentary:
It was fun when I had to stand in front of the video cameras again and discuss things 60s, this time around with veteran Singapore actor and pole dancing extraodinaire Tan Kheng Hua (image right). We were not discussing Grease the movie, but grease on the head, namely Brylcreem the crowning glory of local boys from the 60s.
﻿

Brylcreem Ad in the 60s (Google)

Grease, Guitars and Girls:
Daphne Koh, producer for Memento Singapore, who read this blog invited me for an interview for a documentary to be made by The Moving Visuals Company a local film house. We met at Burger King in Novena Square and talked the morning away about local 60s band boys and their interest in guitars, girlfriends and grease.
﻿The Interview:
We discussed at length the popularity of Brylcreem, Tancho Pomade and Yardley of London and how a combination of the three slicky stuff kept the band boys' hair in place weathering all storms. Actually the cream was more to keep their hair tidy when they appeared for stage performances. They also wanted to look good in front of girl friends. The topic on hair cream and other Singapore 60s memorabilia featured in a four-part documentary that will be televised on Mediacorp Okto (Channel 108) again soon.

The Shoot with Kheng Hua:
As usual my nerves got the better of me when I faced the cameras at Petain Road with its row of peranakan terrace homes. But with experienced Kheng Hua beside me I felt comfortable as she led me with her giggles and laughter. We started off camera by discussing 60s music and when I was more relaxed this charming host of the series took command of the scene shots with her constant chatter, eloquence and natural ease.

Produced by The Moving Visuals Co. for Mediacorp Okto.

We won the day and as we glided to Desker Road (image above) looking for the **Indian (mamak) shop where the grease was on sale, we were already good friends. In fact, my gracious lady-in-charge was even in control of the camera crew, instructing them all the way with strict tenderness and calm.

Drama 101:
With professionals around nothing can go wrong, so they say. Nothing went wrong but a large truck nearly spoilt our schedule when the driver decided to park it right in front of our shoot as he went for his breakfast. Rather than wait for him to reappear our party changed venue as I gave my soliloquy about Elvis' hairstyle before the cams. Yikes!

I learnt a bit of Drama 101 at the Uni in Canada a long time ago but I think Kheng Hua taught me more. She's definitely just as great a teacher as she is an actor.

Shooting 'Momento Singapore' at Petain Road (Andy Lim Collection)

For the uninitiated:
**Indian (Mamak) or mini-sundry shops are a thing of the past in Singapore and used to be scattered all over the island. There are possibly about four shops left today and this Desker Road shop is one.

They sell small items from sweetmeats, snacks and stationery to drinks, cigarettes, newspapers and of course, hair-cream. If you're lucky you might even see a bunch of bananas hanging from the ceiling. All you need to do is pluck one and pay the Indian shopkeeper 5 cents. In the 60s that is...

16 comments:

I learnt a lot about hair creams from you. It was quite interesting to hear from you, how Tancho was used to tame the sideburns, especially for those whose hair is harder to straighten. Hair creams tell so much of our lifestyle and past!

Hope that this email finds you well. Here’s an invitation to a Media Briefing on a charity show of which I’m a volunteer assisting with the publicity.

Great if you could join us for the briefing this Wednesday from 11am to 2pm at the Brazilian restaurant at 6th Avenue Bukit Timah. Hamish Brown and about half a dozen artistes will be there. I will, too, of course.

This was part of a general crackdown on Western "Pop Culture" and decadent behaviour by the youth.There was a ban of "Hippies" entering Singapore from as early as April 1970 and the closure of many venues playing western rock music at the start of 1970.

The list of banned songs was long but included such harmless titles a "Up up and away in my beautiful ballon" "Puff the magic dragon"...

Check out the Singapore National Library for more info there are a number of Straits Times articles that you may help you in your understanding of why long hair was banned.

Don´t forget that Singapore had only just become a nation and a sense of citizenship and what it meant to be a Singaporian was in an early stage of development.As Lee Kuan Yew put it in early 1970.Hippies were "permissive , escapist , drug-taking , self-indulgent promiscuous people "

And you didn´t get to see the Woodstock film . That was Banned in January 1971!

LED ZEPPELIN: THE BOOK ABOUT THE BAND

Then there's the important Discography where L.Z. fans can browse through with eternal contentment the list of recordings, albums and awards this group would have harvested during their decades of performances. CLIK PIX TO READ STORY.

KEY IN SEARCH TOPIC

SCROLL DATES FOR ARCHIVES

MONTHLY READERS (LIVE)

LEFT

In the 1960's when the craze among our youth was to buy local records (i.e. Singapore vinyl), they were more familiar with the covers of Western pops sung by our own artistes than the original ones. In fact, some record buyers were not even aware of the versions by our British or American counterparts.

60's CHRISTMAS SONGS

CLIK WINDOW TO LISTEN.

CARICATURIST AL HIRSCHFELD and his sketch of ERIC CLAPTON

Pop singers, like many celebrities, need to be immortalized. One way is to use caricatures. Al Hirschfeld , to me, is one of the greatest artists. CLIK PIX TO FIND OUT THE OTHERS.

INTERNATIONAL STARS CONNECT WITH THIS BLOG:

Rick Astley (Never Gonna Give You Up), sang in the same show with Silver Strings, Rex Goh was interviewed by John Cher and Russell Hitchcock (Air Supply) with Stephen Fry made comments on blog. Scott Page (Pnk Floyd, Toto) follows me on Twitter.. Thank you all. CLIK PIX TO READ.

SCOTT PAGE IS FOLLOWING THIS BLOG ON TWITTER

AN HONOUR INDEED. THANK YOU. CLIK PIX TO READ.

TRACY HUANG, STILL SINGING

She was Singapore's sweetheart in the 70s and drew sitting room audiences during her shows on local television singing love ballads. With her beautiful face, soft, sweet voice and sophisticated appeal, Tracy Huang (黃露儀) became a hit with Singaporeans. READ FULL VERSION. CLIK PIX

LEGGY FASHION MODELS AND THE BAND BOYS

60's band boys who play on stage to accompany the models while they catwalk usually drool when they see the beauties. Is this true? READ THEIR STORY.

I only heard Jose Mari Chan with 'Beautiful Girl' in the early 90's. This carrier single from his album 'Constant Change' sold very well and became a regional hit especially in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. CLIK PIX TO READ THE STORY.

JERRY FERNANDEZ: BIOGRAPHY OF A 70's SINGAPORE BAND BOY WHO PERFORMED IN EUROPE CLUBS.

It's a previous post but he's been here all the while. Here's Jerry again if you missed reading about him on this blog. "Across fourteen countries and two continents... Setting us apart from the rest of the pack..." CLICK PIX TO READ.

HAN SUYIN'S LEGACY

A MANY SPLENDORED THING. I usually post the image of a book cover (below) when I wish to discuss the pop song connected to the book. When the classic novel A Many Splendoured Thing (1952) by world renowned author *Han Suyin was made into a successful Hollywood movie in 1955 starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones, the song came together with the movie. CLIK PIX TO READ.

CINDY, CLAIR AND CARNABY

A very pleasant neighbour from across the road, wrote to me about her love for the 60's and 70's and songs she cherishes, fashion she designs and London places she visits. CHECK HER. CLIK PIX

70's BAND BOY BYRT MALLANYK WRITES FROM AUSTRALIA

"Everything you wrote and every place or movie you mentioned, and every star you talked about in your blog were part of my precious memories – so thank you VERY much. Many of the cinemas and clubs you mentioned are held fondly in my memories because I have crossed your path during my school days and also during my adult days as a musician." CLIK PIX TO READ FULL STORY

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

A JAMES KWOK HAPPENING: CLICK PIX TO READ.

CYLIN AND CHRISTMAS 2015

Andy, I truly support your blog which does a great job in bringing together people of like-minded interests and also in passing down a legacy to the generations after the 60's. It's the time of year again to be reminded of the reason for the season - to say a word of thanks for the gift of life.

'URLmetrics' RANKED THIS BLOG

WHEN READERS WRITE:

FOR THE DISCERNING READERS WHO WRITE FOR INFORMATION ASSISTANCE. WHY BUY EXPENSIVE BOOKS. THIS BLOG IS FREE. CLICK PIX TO READ

ACKNOWLEDGE THE BLOG IF YOU COPY INFORMATION BUT IT'S BEST TO BE ORIGINAL. PLAGIARISM IS DETESTABLE

Many tertiary students studying subjects related to this blog have used the information to help them in their written assignments. Others write books or use it for their work. If you do so please acknowledge this blog and credit it with my name. That's all I ask for. Andy Lim. Image from: CLICK PIX TO READ.

YOU ARE

ON EMAIL AND TWITTER.

I DIDN'T DO IT.

TO MAINTAIN THE BLOG.

THIS WIDGET WILL DETECT COPYCATS IMMEDIATELY

COPYRIGHTS

Blog is personal, neither advertorial nor sponsored. Infringements and inaccuracies will be deleted, so do advise. Write to me on the CURRENT POSTING COMMENT PAGE. You Tube postings are temporary. Acknowledge writer if you use information and personal images; send to a friend if you enjoy blog.

DISCLAIMER:

E-shops, illegal music & video downloads are not part of this personal blog which is neither sponsored nor advertorial. If mis-information, infringement on images or posts, do advise and they will be deleted immediately. You Tube videos are temporary to illustrate articles posted. Buy ORIGINAL COPIES only. Out of courtesy, please credit quotes and images taken from posts. Andrew LA Lim.